Elon Volleyball Wins Five-Set Thriller Over Wofford

ELON, N.C. – The Elon volleyball team picked up an exciting five-set victory, 3-2 (23-25, 25-19, 25-23, 20-25, 18-16), over Wofford tonight, Oct. 19, in Alumni Gym. The win puts the Phoenix at 11-13 on the season (4-5 SoCon) and drops the Terriers to 12-9 (3-6 SoCon).

“I thought both teams played really hard tonight,” said Elon head coach Mary Tendler. “We made key plays when we needed to and our serving was a big difference in the match. The digs we made in the fifth set when we had match point against us were incredible. We also had some huge swings from our left-side hitters. It felt great to be at home and pick up a big win against a team that’s been playing really well.”

Sophomore Chanelle Smith led all players with 17 kills and recorded a double-double with 14 digs. Freshman Megan Gravley finished with 16 kills, while sophomore Kris Harris tallied 11.

On defense, senior Ali Deatsch recorded 19 digs and junior Maggie Reichard finished with 16. Both Harris and senior Celia Rose Eddy tallied five blocks on the night.

In the first set, Elon found itself down by five, 15-10, before an ace by Harris, a block by Gravley and Eddy and a kill by Gravley helped the Phoenix to five straight to tie the score at 15-all. The teams traded points until Wofford took a three-point advantage, 21-18. The Terriers would hold on for the close first-set win, 25-23.

Up by one in the second, 7-6, Elon went on a 9-5 run to open an 18-11 lead on Wofford and force the Terriers to call its first timeout of the set. A block by Harris and Cali Estes pushed the maroon and gold advantage to eight, 22-14, as Elon went on to tie the match with a 25-19 win.

The third set was close with eight ties by the time the score reached 14-all. Miscues by the Terriers helped Elon to a two-point lead, 16-14, but Wofford matched Elon at 17-all and the back-and-forth continued until the set was tied at 23. The maroon and gold claimed the final two points off a kill by Gravley and an ace by Ana Nicksic to take a 25-23 victory.

Down by five in the fourth, 10-5, Elon went on a 5-2 run off kills by Gravley and C. Smith to pull within two, 12-10. The Terriers maintained the slight advantage and held a five-point edge with set point, 24-19. Elon used a kill by Eddy to hold Wofford, but the Terriers would keep the match alive with a 25-20 win.

With the fifth and final set tied at five-all, Elon scored three straight off a kill by C. Smith and an ace by Deatsch to take an 8-5 advantage. Wofford tied the set at 10-all and took match point first at 15-14. The Phoenix stopped the Terriers from claiming the win twice and pulled even at 16-all. From there, a kill by Chelsea Rafetto and another by C. Smith sealed the 18-16 final-set win and the 3-2 match victory.

Elon hosts Furman tomorrow, Oct. 19, in a 7 p.m. match in Alumni Gym.